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INDIAN WARS AND PIONEERS OF TEXAS.

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cover, in the dark, each lone man, and the groupof three, felt the necessity of perfect silence.Each stealthily and cautiously moved as he or theythought best, and the fate of neither becameknown to the other until all had reached the settlements.Smith, severely wounded, traveled bynight and lay secreted by day till he reached thesettlements on the Brazos, distant over forty miles.The unnamed man, slightly wounded, escapedeastwardly and succeeded, after much suffering,in reaching the settlements. Henderson, Laneand Burton found lodgment in a deep ravine leadingto the creek. Lane became so weak from theloss of blood that Henderson tore up his shirt tostanch and bandage the wound, and succeeded inthe effort. Passing down some distance, theyheard the Indians in pursuit, and ascended thebank and lay in brush with their guns cocked.The pursuers passed within three or four feet butfailed to discover them. About an hour beforeday they reached the creek and traveled down toa muddy pool of water. On a log they crawledonto a little island densely matted with brush,under which they lay concealed all day. Theyrepeatedly heard the Indians, but remained undiscovered.When night came as an angel of mercy,throwing its mantle over them, they emerged fromtheir hiding place; but when Lane rose up, theagony from his splintered leg was so great that heswooned. On recovering consciousness he foundthat Burton, probably considering his conditionhopeless, was urging Henderson to abandonhim; but that great-hearted son of Tennesseespurned the suggestion. The idea inspired Lanewith indignation and the courage of desperation.In words more emphatic than mild he told Burtonto go, and declared for himself that he could, andwith the help of God and William F. Henderson,would make the trip. By the zigzag route theytraveled it was about thirty miles to Tehuacanosprings. They traveled, as a matter of course,very slowly, and chiefly by night, Lane hobblingon one leg, supported by Henderson. For twodays and nights after leaving their covert they hadneither food nor drink. Their sufferings weregreat and their clothing torn into rags. On thethird day, being the fourth from their first assaultby the enemy, they reached the springs named,where three Kickapoos were found with theirfamilies. At first they appeared distant and suspicious,and demanded of them where and how theycame to be in such condition. Hendersonpromptly answered that their party, from whichthey had' become separated, had been attacked byComanches and Ionies, and that they, in their distress,had been hoping to fall in with some friendlyKickapoos. This diplomacy, however remote fromthe truth, had the desired effect. One of the redmen thereupon lighted his pipe, took a few whiffs,and passed it to Henderson, saying, " Smoke!Kickapoo good Indian!" All smoked. Provisionswere offered, and the women bathed, dressedand bandaged Lane's leg. Henderson then offeredhis rifle to one of them if he would allow Lane toride his horse into Franklin. After some hesitationhe assented, and they started on; but duringthe next day, below Parker's abandoned fort,hearing a gunshot not far off (which proved tobelong to another party of Kickapoos, but werenot seen), the Indian became uneasy and leftthem, taking both his pony and the rifle. It shouldbe stated that Lane's gun had been left where theybegan their march, at the little island, simplybecause of his inability to carry it; hence Burton'sgun was now their last remaining weapon.But now, after the departure of the Indian, theywere gladdened by meeting Love and Jackson,returning with the magnet, ignorant, of course, ofthe terrible calamity that had fallen upon theircomrades. Lane was mounted on one of theirhorses, and they hurried on to Franklin, arrivingthere without further adventure.A party was speedily organized at Franklin togo to the scene and bury the dead. On their wayout at Tehuacano springs, by the merest accident,they came upon Mr. Violet in a most pitiable andperishing condition. His thigh had been broken,and for six days, without food or water, exceptinguncooked grasshoppers, he had crawled on hishands and knees, over grass and rocks and throughbrush, about twenty-five miles, in an air line, butmuch niore, in fact, by his serpentine wanderingsin a section with which he was unacquainted. Hisarrival at the springs was a providential interposition,but for which, accompanied by that of therelief party, his doom would have been speedy andinevitable. Two men were detailed to escort himback to Franklin, to friends, to gentle nursing, andfinally to restoration of health, all of which wererepaid by his conduct as a good citizen in afterlife.The company continued on to the battle-ground,collected and buried the remains of the seventeenvictims of savage fury, near a lone tree.It mav well be conceived that heroic courage andaction were displayed by this little party of twentythree,encircled by at least three hundred Indians notwild Comanches with bows and arrows, but thefar more formidable Kickapoos and kindred associates,armed with rifles. It was ascertained after